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Samsung wins battery contract with Chrysler

By Kim Yoo-chul SB LiMotive, a 50-50 joint venture between Samsung SDI and Bosch, has won a deal to supply hybrid car battery packs to Chrysler, a company spokesman said Sunday. It’s the second time for the venture to win a battery deal for eco-friendly cars ― the first was with BMW. The venture will supply rechargeable packs for the Fiat 500EV to be sold on the American market from 2012. ``The battery cells will be produced at SB LiMotive’s battery line in Ulsan and sent to SB Limotive’s affiliate in the United States ― Cobasys ― which will assemble them into packs,’’ said SDI spokesman Seo Hae-su. The Fiat 500EV is an electric version of the Fiat 500 model. Seo said the contract will help the firm secure more clients and help the joint venture gain additional business momentum. The spokesman declined to comment over further financial details such as contract terms and value, citing the sensitivity of the issue. ``Chrysler indicated that SB LiMotive has won the contract because we can supply high-quality lithium-ion battery packs in large quantities,’’ said

Nov 7, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Companies

SK to raise smartphone offerings by 30%

By Kim Yoo-chul SK Telecom, the nation’s top mobile carrier, said that it plans to increase smartphone offerings for this year by up to 30 percent amid the continued ``smartphone frenzy’’ in Korea. Upcoming offerings will mostly be the ones that use Google’s Android platform as the main operating system. But SK is set to introduce the smartphone using Samsung Electronics’ own Bada platform, while it has also been in talks with Nokia to launch additional smartphone model based on Symbian OS. On Thursday, SK Telecom said it will release 10 new smartphone models only in the fourth quarter, bringing its newly-introduced models to 24 throughout this year. SK released two, nine and three smartphone models in the first quarter, second quarter and third quarter, respectively. Of them, 18 models are based on Android OS, while the other sixe use either Research In Motion’s BlackBerry OS or Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS, according to the company. ``We may add one or two more as we are in talks with Samsung Electronics and Nokia to introduce Bada and Symbian OS handsets,’’ said

Nov 4, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

China approves Samsung, LG for display plants

By Kim Yoo-chul The Chinese government has finally approved the much-awaited display factory plants proposed by Samsung Electronics and LG Display, the world's top two biggest LCD makers. It is the first time that Korean electronics firms received the go ahead to build large-sized flat-screen facilities with cutting-edge technologies in China. The approval means Samsung Electronics and LG Display will be able to sell their products without paying taxes in the highly-lucrative Chinese consumer electronics market. Displays are widely used to manufacture televisions, monitors, handsets to other digital devices. ``Beijing approved the earlier proposals by Samsung Electronics and LG Display to build their latest display plants,’’ said a top-ranking executive who is familiar with the situation to The Korea Times, Thursday. Samsung officials said it has been ``very near’’ to getting the go-ahead sign from Beijing, while several unnamed sources from LG Display told the English-daily that it has already been realigning its strategies according to the updates. Kim Choon-go

Nov 4, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung unveils Galaxy Tab here

New model expected to fuel competition in tablet PC market By Kim Yoo-chul The competition for the nation’s tablet PC market is expected to heat up in the coming months after Samsung Electronics unveiled its first-ever tablet Galaxy Tab Thursday. But it’s unclear whether the 7-inch and pocket-sized digital device is able to compete with Apple’s iPad as the U.S. company is dominating the emerging market for tablet PCs. Apple’s iPad is set to make its local debut this month. Samsung has been inspired by initial positive responses from consumers in its strategic markets of the United States and Europe, fueling confidence for the new device. ``The demand for the Galaxy Tab was strong backed by a positive consumer response. Samsung has no problem in exceed one million in sales within this year,’’ said Shin Jong-kyun, the chief of Samsung’s Mobile Division, in a press conference to launch the tablet in Korea. ``The local debut of the Tab had been delayed a little bit. But there is little doubt it will attract domestic consumers just like the popular Galaxy S,’’ the execut

Nov 4, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

KCCI calls for corporate tax cuts

By Kim Yoo-chul Korea's leading business lobby strongly called on the government to proceed with proposed corporate tax cuts as planned. Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Executive Vice Chairman Lee Dong-keun made the point Tuesday in a luncheon meeting with reporters. ``It doesn’t make any sense either to delay or drop the corporate tax cut plan because many countries are seeing expanded facilities investments and hiring via tax cut-related policies,’’ Lee said. He added that the complete withdrawal of the plan will heavily weigh on the information and technology (IT) and electronics sectors as higher corporate taxes are limiting the possibilities for further investment in facilities by leading players. ``Investment is the key for IT and electronics industries, brining an imminent effect to related fields. The cancellation of the plan will end up helping Taiwanese and Japanese rivals to narrow the market gap in key segments,’’ the vice chairman said. Korea is home to the world’s top-tier technology company Samsung Electronics and first-string carmaker H

Nov 2, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

LG gives shock treatment to handset business

By Kim Yoo-chul New LG Electronics boss Koo Bon-joon is wielding the scalpel on the company’s struggling mobile-phone unit, announcing major restructuring Tuesday that was highlighted by the dissolving of the smartphone and feature-phone development units. Despite its status as the world’s third-largest handset vendor behind Nokia and Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics has been alarmed by its miniscule status in the market for smartphones, which provide larger margins than conventional phones. The company reported a quarterly operating loss for the first time in six years for the third-quarter, and much of the damage was caused by its faltering handset unit. The smartphone and feature-phone design teams had been the key units of LG Electronics’ mobile communications division (MCD) and obvious targets of criticism for the company’s incompetence in delivering products that could hold the fort against the iPhone and BlackBerry. It’s unclear at the moment how the canning of the two divisions, which are to be replaced by a unit for broader product development and anothe

Nov 2, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Samsung trying to get younger

Chairman Lee repeatedly hints at youth-oriented transformation By Kim Yoo-chul Samsung Electronics is aging and obviously prodded by the creative onslaught of rival Apple with its flashy iPhone, iPad and iPod, the solution is to inject a bit of rejuvenating energy into the system. Indications for Samsung's transformation are coming from its Chairman Lee Kun-hee. However, it remains to be seen how far-fetching Lee's latest initiative will be ― either limited to products or a generational change at the top of the conglomerate? "Considering the business circumstances of the 21st century, youth is pivotal," Lee Kun-hee said upon his arrival to Gimpo International Airport from Mexico, last week. "Youth will help Samsung make faster judgments in order to get ahead and keep ahead," Lee said. "Besides, young people are more adaptable to new cultures and changing surroundings." Lee’s reference leaves the impression that a big management shake-up might be in store for Samsung next year. Some say that even if any change falls short of a generational shift, it cou

Nov 2, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Mobile OS competition heating up amid Android frenzy

Samsung, Sony-Ericsson drop Nokia's Symbian OS By Kim Yoo-chul The competition for the lion's shares in mobile operating platforms (OS) ― the critical system for handsets ― is further heating up as mobile majors even telecom carriers are drastically realigning their "game plans" amid the industry's massive shift to software. For general consumers, such competition is quite inspiring as the race to get ahead in this field is helping mobile tech improve all the time, making it possible for gadget users to enjoy enhanced digital experiences. But the competition is not good for mobile tech companies as even an untouchable player might see its leverage power being stripped away.

Nov 1, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

Globalization is new e-sport biz model

By Kim Yoo-chul DAEGU ― The global e-sports or online gaming industry is now in transition but a few conditions should be met in order to ensure its robust and balanced growth, experts said at a forum, last week. Efforts are being made to increase the viability of online games, riding on the popularity of a series of real-time strategy games such as StarCraft, but the growth of Internet gaming is limited to Korea and the United States, thus requiring international alliances for global proliferation. "The gaming industry as a whole has seen ups and downs, leaving publishers and the media confused as to what is the right business model," said Joshua LaTendresse, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley Martial Arts Program. "Thus, standardization with regard to game selection and regulation are strongly needed." LaTendresse was a guest speaker at the "2010 International e-Sports Symposium" or IeSym at the Daegu Exhibition Convention Center (EXCO), southern Seoul. The event was organized by the International e-Sports Federation (IeSF). Founded in Augus

Oct 31, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
Tech & Science

SK Telecom sees profit decline 13 percent in Q3

By Kim Yoo-chul SK Telecom, the nation's top mobile carrier, has reported a disappointing quarterly result in the third quarter due to an increase in marketing costs and more investment in network expansion. The firm's net profit during the July to Sept. period dropped by 13 percent to 363.9 billion won from a year earlier. Operating profit declined by 16.1 percent to 51 billion won, while quarterly sales increased by 4.1 percent to 3.18 trillion won, SK said in a regulatory filing, Thursday. SK said its marketing costs rose by 1.5 percent to 750 billion won. SK is promoting marketing to better compete with Apple’s latest iPhone 4. ``It’s highly uncertain over the fourth quarter outlook as SK is being pressured to spend more on marketing to compete with Apple’s tablet PC _ iPad _ by selling more of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet PCs,’’ said an SK Telecom official. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC), the nation’s top telecommunication regulator, earlier set guidelines for telecom carriers to limit marketing costs to 22 percent of total revenue in 2010 and about

Oct 28, 2010By Kim Yoo-chul
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